The Rescue

With a flash of light, Yan returned to the Sub-Institute. His first urgent stop was the old dean's office, but he wasn't back. He then searched for Cisheng, but he wasn't at the Sub-Institute either. Jiguang was in seclusion…

He looked for all the senior brothers and masters he was familiar with, but none were free. Realizing he couldn't wander aimlessly like a headless fly, he gritted his teeth and returned to the medical clinic to find Lian Fulan, hoping to ask her for help finding someone, but today she was nowhere to be found.

After repeated failed attempts to get help, Yan knocked on the door to Jian Yiru's cave abode. "Senior Sister, help me! Hurry!"

"What's all this panic about?" Fortunately, Jian was there. She was displeased by Yan's shouting, but one look at the wounds on his face and that mission token made her realize something was terribly wrong.

"Junior Brother, I'll go find Master Xian. You go into the mountains and find those idle few! This matter is critical, be quick! And don't trust any voice transmissions!" With that, Jian Yiru immediately transformed into a black dragon, speeding straight towards Master Xian's residence, while still managing to use her tail to send Yan flying into the mountains.

As soon as Yan landed, a violent fist wind blasted toward him. He quickly crouched down to evade.

"Senior Brother! Is that you, Senior Brother Yan Kui?" Yan asked immediately, the fist wind feeling somewhat familiar.

"Hmm~?" The man throwing punches in the distance was surprised to see Yan appear so suddenly. "Junior brother? What are you doing here?"

"Senior Brother, Cui... Senior Sister Cui... she..." Yan was too frantic to speak clearly, so he simply took out that token. Yan Kui immediately sensed that something was wrong. "Don't trust any transmission messages now..."

"It's alright, little junior brother." Yan Kui turned and shouted into the forest, "Emergency! Come quickly!"

Within half a刻 (a short period), many people gathered there.

"What's wrong, Fourth Brother?" the leading man, shrouded in swirling mist, asked, having noticed Yan and the token in his hand.

"The north. Over there. Something's happened!" Yan Kui took a deep breath and spoke, each word deliberate. The man understood quickly.

"Little junior brother, you've truly landed in a colossal mess this time!" He walked over to Yan, examined the wounds on his face, and then the mist surrounding his body automatically drifted around Yan, reconstructing everything he had seen.

"Xiao, you fly fast. Go ahead first. Help if you can."

"Dun, the tokens you and Jiguang crafted yourselves should be usable, right? Issue one to everyone. Have Xiao carry two extra."

"Yun Feng, don't you three have those leaves for sending messages to each other? Have them notify the masters. And get Mo Wenxi to cast a divination while you're at it."

"Little junior brother, lead the way there for us now! With Jiguang and the others here at the Sub-Institute, no problems will arise!"

The man rapidly arranged tasks for everyone.

"Senior Brother E Ye, I left some Mind Force from the Immortal Seed there earlier. Give me a moment now, I think I can transport everyone directly over there!" Yan said, immediately channeling the Immortal Seed. Vast amounts of Mind Force enveloped the group, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the cave abode Yan had left.

It was a scene of utter devastation, blood stained the ground, along with a few strands of pink hair. Not a single intact corpse was in sight, only fragments scattered everywhere. Unbidden tears streamed down Yan's face. Everyone fell into a heavy silence.

E Ye was the first to regain his composure. The mist around his body enveloped the energies on the scene. After a moment, he nodded.

Next, he found a stone that produced a clear, ringing sound when tapped. He had Dun place his hand on it, then enveloped him with his own energy, using magnetism to disperse all the mist around Dun's body, spreading it throughout the surrounding area.

But E Ye frowned, then glanced at Yun Feng again, signaling her to communicate with the surrounding plants and try to expand the detection range. She walked outside, placed her hand on a tree trunk, and a large amount of qi flooded into it. After a short while, she returned somewhat fatigued and shook her head.

Immediately after, he had Yan come over, using the remaining Mind Force in the Immortal Seed along with a temporary tracing of his own sensory arts to enhance himself once more, but he could only sigh in the end.

Finally, E Ye walked to Yan Kui's side, instructing him to activate his physical cultivation and disperse then retract his own vitality in a special form. E Ye used his qi to gather the traces of life aura within it, yet still found nothing.

Left with no choice, they had to split up to search. Before departing, E Ye wrapped a layer of his own mist around each person, then had Yan cover everyone with his Mind Force. He specifically warned, "The moment you sense the slightest gap in the Mind Force or mist on anyone, then all information they transmit via token is unreliable!" Afterwards, the group scattered in five different directions.

Burning with anxiety, Yan never paused for a moment, rapidly scouting the surroundings by relying on the wind-based technique he had just learned, though he wasn't very proficient with it yet.

Suddenly, his token vibrated. Yan took it out and saw a distress message from Yun Feng; the location was not far from him.

Yan grinned, instantly flashing to the spot. As he expected, there indeed was an ambush. The "Yun Feng" there was an illusion conjured by some method unknown to him.

Protected by E Ye's mist, illusions were completely ineffective against Yan. Dealing with these ambushers was as easy as reaching out and taking something.

Seeing they were no match, the ambushers swiftly retreated. Yan pursued, hoping to track them all the way to their hideout in one go, but then he heard Yun Feng's agonized scream in the distance and hurried over to assist.

It was another ambush. Fortunately, Yun Feng wasn't there. He dispatched the enemies just as swiftly as before.

This time, however, the enemies behaved oddly. Even without suffering severe injuries, they still withdrew quickly after engaging, intentionally or unintentionally retreating towards a specific direction.

Sensing something fishy, Yan first checked that the enveloping Mind Force on himself had no gaps, then sent a message via the voice transmission jade slip before advancing again.

...

Soon after, the group members simultaneously received a message transmitted via Cui Yuan's token. It ordered them to suppress their cultivation base themselves and proceed to a demanded location to "negotiate" the ransom of the hostages.

They had no choice. Upon reaching the designated spot, they all suppressed their cultivation, but were shocked to discover their power was difficult to restore there.

The arrow was already loosed from the bow. Feeling slightly uneasy but unable to turn back, they still entered a dilapidated inn according to the provided address.

The surroundings were full of black-clad figures wearing masks. Pushing open the main door, they faced a long-haired man who also wore a mask, though his differed from the others'. Cui Yuan knelt dazedly by his side.

"Well, well, if it isn't Fellow Daoist Wen. Long time no see!" Seeing the person seated in the center, E Ye greeted him casually, showing no sign of caution.

"Release Senior Sister!" Yan shouted angrily, stepping forward, but Yun Feng pulled him back. "Idiot, this is their territory! Don't act recklessly!"

The group reluctantly took their seats.

"Fellow Daoist E, venturing deep into the enemy camp yet remaining so composed and calm. It seems you must have an ace up your sleeve for overturning the table!" The man picked up a wine cup, raised it towards E Ye, and downed it in one gulp.

E Ye also raised his cup and drank. "You flatter me. Fellow Daoist Wen, being so shrewd and experienced, surely wouldn't be afraid of a few people like us overturning the table!"

The two chatted and laughed amiably, while the others remained silent, ready to break out at any moment.

"Fellow Daoist E, tell your junior brothers not to be so tense. Although I, Wen, engage in some unsavory business, my word is my bond. Suppressing your cultivation is merely for the sake of smoother negotiations." As she spoke, the person removed her mask, revealing her features. While not peerless in beauty, she was undoubtedly a top-tier beauty. "Everyone, I am also a woman, and my orientation is quite normal, so naturally, I couldn't possibly do anything to Fellow Daoist Cui. You can all rest assured. As for why Fellow Daoist Cui ended up like this, it was entirely a matter of necessity. Please don't hold it against me."

Yan clenched his fists tightly.

"Fellow Daoist Wen is straightforward and bright in her dealings. If you haven't done anything, why didn't you dare to come in your true form? Or did you go to capture my useless junior brother?" E Ye stood up. The other four turned into dense smoke, instantly teleporting behind Wen, a fan pressed against her neck.

"Fellow Daoist E, how could you not know the characteristic of this Wen's avatar? Coming like this, I have shown great sincerity. It seems Fellow Daoist E's sincerity is rather lacking! Even the one disguised as Cui was secretly swapped out!" Wen placed her hand on the fan and gently pushed it away. The Cui Yuan beside her also turned into smoke. "However, regardless, Fellow Daoist E should worry about them a little! This smoke of yours that can break illusions is getting thinner and thinner!"

The surrounding illusion dispersed, revealing only a slightly larger cave.

"We've been acquainted for so long; you know my temperament well enough!" E Ye wrapped his arm around Wen's slender waist, his nose approaching her face.

"Oh my, Fellow Daoist E, it's been so long since we last met! Don't be like this..." Wen's face flushed slightly. Seeing this, E Ye let go and took a few steps back.

"Fellow Daoist Wen, you're hidden quite well!" E Ye, who had somehow plucked a single strand of hair from Wen, and utilizing the scent he caught from her earlier, directly pinpointed the location of her true body. "Finding your true body is really troublesome!" E Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a faint smile.

Wen let out a sigh and naturally leaned against E Ye. "Go ahead. I won't avoid it. Whether you kill or slice me, I'm at your mercy." As she spoke, Wen's avatar dissipated, and E Ye immediately set off for Wen's location.